Shaping Time in Music: Explorations in Localised Temporalities: A Portfolio of Compositions with Accompanying Commentaries

Abstract

This commentary stands as the companion to my portfolio of compositions. To provide clarity to the reader, I have sectioned this commentary into two distinct parts. The first part stands as a theoretical framework and the underlying foundation for my music. This framework covers issues pertaining to the fields of philosophy, psychology and composition. The second part consists of commentaries for the individual pieces, responding to the issues discussed in the framework.

Chapters 1-3 will cover the philosophical underpinnings of my portfolio including an investigation of temporal ontologies and the perception of music. This includes exploration of the definitions of objective and subjective time and how Bergsonian principles of space and duration can influence the structure of musical composition. I will also pose some fundamental questions as to our experience of time, and whether time as we know it, actually exists at all, in order to introduce the temporal framework underpinning my own ideas on music. Additionally, I will present the way we comprehend musical structure, in a global context.

In Chapters 4 and 5, I will explore the structures for experiential time and local listening, and how this relates to the forms for which my music will adhere/take inspiration from. This will involve looking at compositional discourse, techniques and insights into experiential form. I conclude my theoretical framework by summarising the underlying structures that underpin my compositional aesthetic. Moreover, I give a brief insight into my own stylistic approaches to music that fall outside of the temporal ideology as part of the portfolio.

The second part of my commentary brings together the concepts and techniques outlined in the theoretical framework and applies them against my own work. Any accompanying documentation needed has been provided in the appendices of this portfolio and has been clearly labelled in both the document and the contents.